Basic Chicken marinade

Chicken curry or tandoori chicken are one the most
popular dishes not only India but around the world. In India and it is a treat that is the reason when
chicken is cooked people take time and cook properly. Whether you are making
tandoori chicken or chicken curry it is preferable to marinade the chicken. The
yogurt based marinade is a traditional Indian marinade. The acid in the yogurt
works to tenderize the meat. To prepare the marinade mixture, spices such as
garam masala, red chili powder, turmeric powder and ginger, garlic and Kasoori
methi (fenugreek leaves) are added to yogurt then clean chicken pieces are
marinated in this mixture. Chicken always cleaned and skinned before adding in
the marinade. The marinating of chicken can start the night before or
the morning of cooking day. In fact the flavors will be best if the chicken
sits in the yogurt mixture for at least 6 hours, giving the yogurt tenderizing
powers a chance to work it’s magic.

Directions to marinade chicken:1.Remove skin from
the chicken and wash thoroughly under running tap water.2.Cut the chicken
breast or boneless thighs into pieces, or if you prefer to cook chicken with
bones then just clean the chicken and take the skin out.3. With a sharp knife prick the flesh of the
chicken all over and make incisions on the pieces. This helps the marinade to
go all the way inside the chicken. Place the chicken pieces in a bowl.

With a sharp knife make incisions

Incisioned chicken pieces

4.Tilt the bowl and keep a support under the bowl to
keep it tilted for a while so that all the water from chicken drains out, or
place the chicken inside of a strainer and let the chicken drain well,
Otherwise marinade gets watery.5.In a large bowl, add yogurt, grated
ginger, minced garlic, Tandoori chicken masala,salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, kasoori methi,
red color (optional) and oil or melted butter or ghee and mix them together and make a
smooth paste.

In the yogurt and all the other marinade ingredient

Marinade paste

6.Pour this paste over the washed chicken and mix
everything together. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 8 to 10 hour
in the marinade or as long as you have time until you cook chicken. The longer
the meat is left in the marinade the better, yogurt act as a tenderizer.

Add chicken pices in marinade

Mix chicken with marinade

7.Thirty minutes before you are ready to cook, take the marinated chicken out of the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature.

Chicken marinade with red color

Tips:

1. For marinate thick hung yogurt is preferred otherwise marinate become watery and it would not coat the chicken. If you do not have thick yogurt, take plain yogurt, line a strainer with a cloth or a kitchen towel, put the strainer inside a mixing bowl. The bottom of the strainer must be suspended at least 1 inch above the bottom of the mixing bowl. Pour about 3 cups of yogurt in the strainer and place it in the refrigerator and leave it for 3 to 4 hours or until all the liquid has drips out of the cloth and into the bowl. Scoop out the yogurt and it is ready to be used. Strained yogurt should be thick and less than half the original volume.

2. You can even do quick marinade, just add all the ingredients in the yogurt mix and add chicken and leave it for whatever time you have. Thick yogurt stick to the chicken.